


In Light, Love

by sunflowersandsunshining



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, One Shot, Pain, The Hinterlands, Violence, tw pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 01:43:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15132335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowersandsunshining/pseuds/sunflowersandsunshining
Summary: When the Inquisitor goes to investigate a strangely powerful rift, things don't quite go as planned.





	In Light, Love

“It hurts.” I mumbled, rubbing my arm after a particularly disastrous encounter with a group of Darkspawn.

We were en route to a camp of ours in the Hinterlands where a soldier had made a report of a new, massive rift spawning. It was a concerning report, meaning Cullen had come along personally with the regular party to ensure our safety. 

Just as the battle ended, Cullen rushed over and called out to me. “Is everything alright, Inquisitor?”

“We’ve been through much worse. She doesn’t need your help.” Cassandra sighed, patting a small cloth over a newly formed wound on her own body. “Cullen, I’m sure you’re aware of this.” 

“Yes, well,” he replied quickly. “I must protect the Inquisitor. She’s the foundation of our army.”

“Yes, that’s why you’re constantly fawning over her.” Varric chuckled. “Because she’s the Inquisitor.” 

“Let’s just move on.” I sighed, trying to ignore the searing pain in my arm and the idiots I was travelling with. “We have things to do.” 

I could feel Cassandra roll her eyes from behind me as we continued our trudge up the hill in front of us. 

The Hinterlands showed its usual beauty as we passed by some of the region’s classic features: greenery stretched for miles in front of us as we climbed mountains and hills alike, avoiding bears and steep ledges along the way. Wildflowers dotted the roads like stars in the darkening sky, and soon it became night before us. 

But one thing stood out as odd: my body still wasn’t recovered. In the past, I had almost died with wounds all over my body and I still ended up recovering completely within a few hours. 

My thoughts were interrupted as we entered a nearby clearing. “We should make camp.” Cassandra said bluntly. 

I nodded and pushed my staff into the ground below me with a sigh. “Alright.”

 

Eventually we settled in, eating rations around the flame and listening to Varric’s various and likely bullshit stories. The night burned above our tired heads, providing a short respite from the daunting task in front of us. 

“I swear, that man’s gun made my heart beat like the ladies over at the Blooming Rose.” Varric laughed while he polished Bianca tenderly. 

“Quick. Fast. I live to protect, but what if I can’t protect her?” Cole suddenly interjected, staring straight at Cullen. “You should tell her.”

Cassandra curled her lip and grunted. “Demon, you must respect other people’s privacy.”

“Her? Who’s this girl, Curly?” Varric chimed in, a mischievous grin growing on his face. 

Cullen rubbed his neck and looked away, trying to end the conversation. “I don’t appreciate mind games, Cole.” 

“You should tell her,” he merely whispered in response.

“Ugh. I don’t want to listen to what type of guns Varric… prefers,” Cassandra said, standing up to leave. “And I don’t want to know what Cullen might be hiding. Good night.” She turned and disappeared into one of the hastily set up tents, her disapproval hanging in the air behind her.

“Well, it is getting late. And it seems you two have something to talk about. C’mon, kid.” Varric pulled at Cole, pulling him along while looking directly at me and Cullen.

And suddenly, we were alone.

“That was… odd.” Cullen said, turning to me. “How are you feeling?” His figure seemed to soften in the light of the fire; he seemed much smaller without his army behind him.

“I’ve seen worse.” I mumbled, stretching my legs out in front of me.

“Are you still in pain?” He questioned, his amber eyes narrowing their gaze onto me. 

“Yes,” I whispered. 

He inched closer to me and gently took hold of my injured arm. “May I?” He said, pulling at the bandage sloppily arranged around it. 

I nodded and he pulled the cloth off softly, the dull throb slowly growing in intensity. I winced, letting a soft swear slip out of my mouth as he examined the gash in my arm. 

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, taking out a clean cloth from his supplies. “I didn’t mean to cause you pain.”

“It’s okay.” I replied with a small smile. He poured some sort of liquid onto the cloth, and I prepared myself for what was coming next.

“It’s going to sting.” he explained, looking at me directly in the eye. “It’s going to be okay, alright?” He lightly applied the medication to the wound, sending fire through the left side of my body.

The sparks of the campfire blurred, and for a moment, Cullen’s face was completely blurred from my vision; I let out a gasp as the pain slowly receded. 

“Inquisitor? Are you alright?” Cullen’s voice was shaky, his concrete facade slowly fading.

“Yes,” I whispered as I looked down to see that the new bandage was firmly in place. “Thank you, Cullen.”

Silence hung in the air as I realized how tired I actually was, and I hardly noticed myself steadily sinking into his solid figure beside me.

“Ah… u-um...” I could feel his hands fidgeting with his shirt, but at that point, I was well past caring. “Is everything alright?”

The last thing I remember was the fire slowly burning in front of us, uncaring, unchanged, unmoved.

 

I awoke in the another tent, with Cullen sleeping soundly across from me. 

“Cullen?” I whispered, the morning sunlight streaming in from a crack in the front of the tent.

“Yes?” He mumbled sleepily, his voice like a rumble in the back of his throat. 

“Um… good morning.” I sat up slowly, my arm still stinging from the night before.

“Hello.” He responded lethargically, his eyes slowly opening and looking at me. 

“Did you…” I whispered sheepishly. 

“You’re heavier than you look,” he chuckled as he slowly rose out of his cot.

“Thank you for helping me,” 

“Oh, it’s--” He was interrupted by a familiar voice from outside.

“Hey, sleepyheads, it’s time to go. Curly, you didn’t kill her, did you?”

Cullen sighed, reaching forward to grab his armor pieces. “No, I didn’t.”

“Still alive!” I called out with a giggle, pulling on my leather boots hurriedly. 

 

We regrouped outside the tents shortly thereafter and continued our trek towards our destination. The dawning sun illuminated the rest of the clearing and the forest past it, temporarily granting us safe travel. Light filtered through the leaves above us as I felt the heat of the sun on my back. 

“So, Curly, what’d you get up to last night?” Varric’s said playfully.

“Sleeping.” He grumbled, his eyes fixed on the road ahead of us.

“No need to be coy with me, Curly. We’re all adults here. What happened?” Varric pushed, turning back to wink at me. 

“Nothing happened.” Cullen replied, annoyance building in his voice. 

Before Varric could respond, Cassandra interjected: “I suggest you stop pestering the man who’s protecting you, Varric.”

“Seeker, I’m simply asking questions…” 

“Both of you, quiet.” I snapped. I could feel it: a rift was nearby, and Maker, it wasn’t normal. The mark throbbed, making my hair stand on end; it felt like my body was filled with electricity, crackling, pulsing; sparking.

“What is it, Inquisitor?” Cullen rushed to my side, his hand hovering nervously over his sword’s sheath, ready to strike. 

“Look.” I pointed to a nearby glade. It was darkened and shadowy against the illuminated woods, and in it, we could see it: a glowing, sickly green rip in the fabric of our world, larger than any we had ever seen before. It had formed the clearing around it - the trees in its vicinity were blackened, like they had been set on fire. 

“Shit.” Varric whispered. “Guess we found it, huh?”

“We need to--” I started to speak, but before the words could come out we were assaulted by the first wave of demons emerging from the rift. 

First came the smaller ones; they shambled out in droves, dozens at a time. Cullen and Cassandra immediately took the front line, managing to fight off most of them off, while the rest of us picked off the stragglers. 

But then the Pride demons came. Four, all at once, like a burst of lightning in the middle of a clear sky. We were overwhelmed. The dense forest surrounding us prevented easy escape, leaving us to the mercy of the waves of enemies before us. 

Cole was able to take out multiple Pride demons on his own; I watched as he disappeared and reappeared on one of the monsters, daggers driven deep into its back. Then again. And again. He jumped from demon to demon with surprising dexterity. 

Cassandra and Cullen held the offense well, too; they were able to deflect the constant flow of demons, keeping them at bay from me and Varric in the back. 

But it wasn’t enough. 

They were smarter than us; they knew I was the one who held the power to close the rift, and they stopped at nothing to get to me. They purposely avoided engaging the others to come after me. Before I knew it - I felt it again; that searing pain in my left side, spreading, growing, until my entire body was enveloped in white hot heat.

I screamed. It felt like my entire body was being ripped apart, obliterated - everything started to become hazy as I could feel my own heartbeat start to give out.

Sound became dull thuds in my ears as I slumped to my feet. I saw a figure above me, foggy, clouded; they yelled something at me, but I didn’t hear it. My body was searing with pain that I couldn’t stop - it felt like I was being torn to pieces.

I felt some sort of pressure, and I suddenly found myself in somebody’s arms; they were running, and I saw the trees melt into a blur as we passed by. I tasted metal; my senses dulled as I fought to stay conscious. 

I could barely move. I grabbed onto the person carrying me, burying my bloodied face into their chest piece; I prayed it wasn’t Cassandra, because then I probably wasn’t going to survive the ass kicking she’d give me after this. 

But eventually, we stopped. My gaze was still weak, but it appeared that we were far away from that cursed forest; we were in some sort of clearing. I felt myself being laid down. My head was still thumping, but I heard a voice:

“I know you can’t feel it, but I promise I’m holding your hand.” 

Ferelden accent. Cullen?

I tried to whisper something, but all that came out was a whimper.

“It’s going to be alright, people-- … people are coming…” he stammered, his voice faltering. 

“Am… Am I going to die?” I managed to ask. 

“No,” he said. “No, no, no. You’re not. I won’t let you.” He pulled me into his lap and fumbled with his pack, pulling out bandages and a strange looking bottle of medication. 

I stared into his blurred face, mustering as much energy as I could to surmount the pulsating pain and remain conscious. 

“I won’t let go, don’t worry,” he whispered. “I’m holding your hand.”

I think I smiled at that, before things went black once again.

 

I woke up at Skyhold, in my bed, with Cullen sitting in a chair by my bedside. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. 

As soon as he saw my eyes open, he spoke:

“Oh, thank the Maker!” 

“Hey,” I managed a weak smile. “I guess we didn’t close that rift, huh?”

“That doesn’t matter,” he said, “as long as you’re okay.”

“How long was I out?”

“Two days.” He responded. “We almost lost you.” 

I felt a small warmth on my left side, and I looked down. He was still holding my hand. 

“Ah--” he stammered, pulling away. “I’m sorry. That… That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

“No, please, come back.” I whispered. 

He paused in contemplation. Then he softly took my hand once more. “I’ll be here,” he muttered. “For as long as you need me.”

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! thank you for reading my little one shot, I hope you enjoyed! all feedback is greatly appreciated, have a great day! x


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